


Haunted Duel School

by alsidia



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Canon - Anime Dub, Gen, Humor, Mystery, Other minor characters are there but do zilch, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26070325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alsidia/pseuds/alsidia
Summary: With Zarc defeated and the dimensional counterparts having regained their own bodies, they were sure everything was finally over. So what were these strange occurrences at the You Show Duel School?
Kudos: 7





	1. Strange Occurrences

**Author's Note:**

> Gong and Sora are honorary members of the original bunch

Two weeks had passed since Yuya had successfully made Riley Akaba laugh and everyone had been miraculously revived and reunited. Despite the relatively short amount of time, the dust had settled enough for the displaced children to agree to visit the You Show Duel School together with its original attendees. Although not everyone was ready to duel again, they were all ready to watch their friends have fun and entertain.

Or to gamble. Whichever made more sense at the time.

Currently Sora and Celina were preparing to duel, Sora having been provoking the latter for the better part of the morning, and nearly all bets were on the Lunalight deck-user. Skip was about to enter the control room when he heard a sharp thud from behind him.

Feeling an investigation was in order, the teacher pushed open the door to his new destination, scanning the area for any oddities. He found the source of the noise after a few moments of searching – the red flowerpot they had recently acquired had fallen from its place on the windowsill and was now sitting on its side on the floor, spilling soil all over the carpet. Fortunately, the pot and plant appeared to have escaped damage.

“That’s odd…” Skip murmured, perplexed. Perhaps he had placed it too close to the edge and with more people than usual milling about…

A yell from his pink-haired daughter interrupted his musing. He turned back to the control room, ready to get the duel started.

Yusho Sakaki decided to join the children a few days later. As one of his XYZ students, Lulu was eager to impress and, more importantly, to duel. It had been a while since Lulu Obsidian’s last duel and much longer since she did so for smiles. Her Standard counterpart was also excited as their fierce yet graceful performance began.

Hours passed with friendly banter and enthusiastic cheering until Zuzu finally secured her victory. The time had come for the group to return to their dwellings. The XYZians waited for everyone else to leave in order to steal a few extra minutes for Lulu to regain her energy. However, as the others called for them, the girl felt a tug on her hair, followed almost immediately by a soft clattering behind her. Eyes wide, she turned around swiftly to see her silver wing-shaped hair clip lying next to her feet. Could that be all it was? But surely there was too much force behind that pull…

A gentle pressure on her shoulder reminded her of the approaching night. She collected her fallen accessory and the trio departed.

A cry of deep anguish resounded throughout the building’s thin walls, beckoning the school’s official attendees and Gong to the teacher’s office. They found a trembling Sora hunched over an empty box, whispering incoherently. Feeling brave, Allie slowly approached his quivering form, only to jump back and shriek upon seeing his face.

The former Academy soldier rose to his feet, movements painfully slow as he finally faced them, radiating a deadly aura. His eyes revealed unfathomable rage and horror matched only by the tone of his voice.

“ _Who stole my lollipop stash!?_ ”

Rin and Yugo were not You Show’s most frequent guests. Regardless, Yugo was adamant that they go at least once a fortnight – it may as well have been the major player’s clubhouse at this point.

The pair arrived slightly earlier than either had anticipated. Seeing that the door was unlocked, Rin strolled in carrying a bag filled to the brim with sugary sweets. Her friend followed. They realised in little time that, with the exception of the Synchro summoners, no-one was presently in the building, but figured they should make themselves comfortable anyway. Rin deposited her load on the low, wooden table while Yugo threw himself onto the couch.

A startled yelp caused the green-haired girl to whip around towards the boy and gasp at the sight that greeted her. Yugo fell through the seat!

(“I know he’s a little thick-headed but that’s not enough to rip through a _couch!_ ”)

That night, Shay noticed Yuto furtively searching the Boyle’s house with a nervous gait. Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves was missing.

As the Standard counterparts approached the school they felt something was different, however, neither could put their finger on what. They saw the youngest trio of duellists, accompanied by the other bracelet girls and Skip, staring up at the bright pinky-purple fence with blank expressions.

Wait… pinky-purple?

“What is going _ON!?_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone was wondering, Zuzu won against Lulu because she had duelled a lot more recently and this is was Lulu-in-her-right-mind's first real action duel


	2. Hunting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Utterly displeased with recent events, Zuzu decides to take matters into her own hands

Having finally calmed down, Zuzu gathered the troops inside to discuss their abnormal situation. The group compiled a list of recent unusual events and, after a period of thoughtful silence, the musical dueltainer began formulating a plan. “I propose a stakeout,” she declared with fiery determination. Receiving no objections, she pressed on. “There is a chance whoever we’re up against has some connection to the supernatural – they're probably dangerous and have something against You Show. Yuya, you're helping!” Said boy’s throat emitted a strangled sound. Most of those present were fidgeting if not staring at the walls with varying levels of interest. Celina, on the other hand, leapt to her feet, volunteering without an ounce of hesitation. “Bring it on!”

After informing his mother of their plan, Yuya ambled up to his bedroom with the intent of napping. He did not expect to see one of his look-a-likes rummaging through their shared drawers, although that did not stop him from flopping over the covers.

He awoke to the sheets being pulled out from under him and hit the ground hard. A bored Yuri hauled him down for supper, where a cursory glance around the room revealed two backpacks nestled beside the front door. The dueltainer smiled, knowing their small band of investigators had expanded.

The four detectives assembled before the vandalised property. Nothing seemed amiss upon entry so they stationed themselves at the heart of the building, waiting for a disturbance in the tranquil night. However, most of the team were not known for their patience, so it came as no surprise when Celina suggested that they split up and seek out the perpetrator not ten minutes into their watch. Having enjoyed many a movie in his younger years (and endured the Synchro dimension ordeal), Yuya was thoroughly opposed to this idea and would have made it known had their Fusionite companion not thrust him up and away from the others. With a tight grip on her unwilling partner’s wrist and an enthusiasm heavy smile on her lips, she led her struggling friend to the adjacent corridor. Despite also being aware of the risk, the other girl insisted that Yuto remain with her. He eyed the doorway warily but eventually relinquished any ideas of tailing the hunting pair. Meanwhile, Zuzu began extracting candles from her bag.

Yuya was afraid of neither ghosts nor duellists. He was sure that if the prankster ended up being a living human Celina could make short work of them. Nevertheless, the boy could not shake the growing sense of dread gripping his heart.

They had forgone all light but that of the stars in the hopes of concealing their presence for a time. Even in the resulting darkness, neither deemed anything to be out of place. They crept along the corridor, keeping their footsteps light, breath quiet and senses alert. The purple-haired girl was hopeful they would discover at least one clue tonight, if not the culprit themselves. Walking with one hand to the wall, she briefly considered acting as bait for their enemy but her partner was too unnerved for such a scheme to be effective (not that she expected him to agree in the first place).

They were nearing the end of the plain corridor when Yuya gasped softly and latched onto her arm. A pale blue light emanated from the next room. Celina hugged her arms, the space suddenly feeling cooler and a chill settling in her bones, having easily penetrated the thick fabric of her jacket. They stood rooted to the spot, neither duellist able to advance as they stared entranced by the unnatural lustre. The already dim light gradually faded, leaving the two frozen children in complete darkness once more.

While Zuzu arranged her plethora of burning candles on the table in preparation for ‘an important ritual Aura taught me’, her quieter friend examined the list created earlier that day. There had to be a pattern. The red flowerpot that fell, Lulu’s silver hairclip, the sweets, the… silver hair… green…

Yuto shivered. He observed the other through the haze of the flames – it may have bothered him at any other time but a deeper fear was stirring within him. Surely if _he_ was here, Ray’s incarnations would have felt something more than mild annoyance. Regardless, they had already banished _his_ spirit for good, right?

Yuya slowly released his grip on the former soldier, taking a hesitant step past her. Then another. Then a third, more resolute this time. As cold as it was, there was a vague familiarity about that glow. He had to know why.

Not wanting to be left alone, Celina followed the boy’s continued strides until they had reached the slightly ajar door at last. Sharing a nod, they stepped through the classroom’s only doorway to nothing but desks and cluttered shelves. “We were too slow,” Yuya mumbled as his fellow explorer resumed her tracing of the walls. Her steady fingers brushed over something wet and marginally sticky, prompting her to activate her duel disk, using its dull luminescence to identify the substance. Yuya fell to his knees. In obnoxiously bright yellow, big, messy lettering, a single word had been painted – ‘ONE’.

“If there really is a ghost here, I’ll erase it.” Yuto flinched at the girl’s sudden words. Momentary panic threatened to overtake him as the dark duellist carefully rose from his position on the floor and silently backed away, mind reeling. Zuzu was about to speak again when a familiar voice cried out from beyond the walls. Snapping back to reality, Yuto bolted towards their friends while the girl elected to finish her exorcism alone.

Three things caught the black-haired boy’s attention upon reaching them: an ugly splatter of paint on the wall, the two people on the ground staring at said splatter and a facedown card threatening to fall from one of the emptier shelves. He stalked towards it, content that his teammates were not in imminent danger. His expression morphed into a confused frown upon seizing the card. How had his lost Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves gotten here? When further investigation of the room yielded no useful insights, Yuto joined the now functional duo after checking what had shocked them so badly. He knew they had reached the same conclusion he had.

However, Yuya had a more pressing concern at the moment. “Zuzu’s all alone,” he said, voice shaking almost imperceptibly. “I have to get back to her!” With that, he dashed down the corridor, Celina and the XYZian rushing after him.

He stopped in the doorway, sighing in relief at seeing her unharmed. Yuya opened his mouth but clamped it shut as something caught his eye. Following his line of sight, four pairs of eyes came to rest on one lone card. There, atop the opposite doorframe, was the Supreme Dragon King Zarc.


End file.
